“Looking at what’s scheduled for that weekend, there might not be room in the city for many more people, much less cars. First, there’s the free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park, a three-day event that drew about 800,000 people last year. That Sunday afternoon, the 49ers play the Buffalo Bills at Candlestick Park, while the Giants are hoping for weekend playoff games at AT&T Park, all guaranteed sellouts. About 60,000 people typically attend the Castro Street Fair, scheduled for that Sunday, while thousands more will jam North Beach for the annual Italian Heritage Parade at 12:30 on the same day. A different crowd will probably be at the Burning Man Decompression street fair, also that Sunday afternoon. To add to the fun, two mega cruise ships are expected to dock at Pier 35 over the weekend, disgorging thousands more tourists. Then, of course, there’s Fleet Week, which brings thousands of sailors and as many as a million visitors to the waterfront for the weekend.”

“We need several more docents to work the stops along the E-line on October 6 and 7, helping riders find the right platform and providing information about the service. We have docent books prepared by Paul Lucas, so it’s easy to learn what to do. If you’re interested, send us an email and we’ll get back to you.”

I don’t know, when I was there, tons of cars (or, more literally, tens of tons of cars) with Friends and Family passes were getting waived-through the NO BIKE ZONE on JFK, although, admittedly, this was early on. (I’m sure most of the Friends and Family people ended up parking closer to the Banjo Stage, where their tents were located.)

And since We’re All About Safety and whatnot, what’s up with the gasoline-powered ClubCar drivers, how fast are they allowed to go on the dusty sidewalks of JFK? 20 MPH? 25 MPH? I don’t know.

All’s I know is that I couldn’t keep up with them when I was pedalling downhill on the slopey part of JFK. But I was able to enjoy the dust clouds they kicked up, the ones that spread all over JFK:

Click to expand

And, HSB people, if you’ve cured the BICYCLE HAZARD by not letting bikes go through on JFK, then there is no more BICYCLE HAZARD, right? So what are the signs supposed to be telling people?

Now, I’m not one to criticize people or nothing, but if I were, I might say something about putting them ClubCars into speed-limited “golf-cart mode” next year.

And, HSB people, you have so much money, right? You’re swimming in resources. So why not put out some more bike racks next year? Just have them stretching to the horizon, you dig? T’wouldn’t cost that much at all…

But some rules you can’t break. This Marijuana Provider truck parked as close as possible to the main entrance got the least expensive parking ticket possible – $23. Actually, that’s a good deal:

Speaking of parking, there was none left for bicycles in the afternoon:

So, up into the air they went. Once more unto the trees, dear friends, once more:

Appears as if the Plant People won out over the Bike People this go around – that would explain all the signage. But I didn’t see as much tree parking as there was in 2009. IMO, trees are pretty tolerant of bikes hanging about, but that’s JMO.

There was supposed to be an announcement of a “major gift” from F. Warren Hellman, the San Francisco Bay Guardian’s favorite billionaire, to Golden Gate Park at the Banjo Stage this afternoon, seeing as how it’s the HSBF Decennial this year. There might have been a gift, but there was no announcement. Seen here with Emmylou Harris and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom:

Mr. Hellman’s jacket sported at least two Stars of David, for the record. Not sure the meaning of the script:

So, they’ve got a plan, a plan to blanket Speedway Meadow with enough non-ionizing radiation to cook a hot dog at 200 yards. That way, your phone will work for sure for a change.

(I don’t know, I have a Palm Treo smartphone that Costco gave me about four years ago cause I signed up for a two-year contract, unlimited data for $15. Works fine. They say I can’t get that kind of deal on a new contract these days – the workers at the cell phone companies tell me to just keep my existing contract. Anyway, Sprint never has dropped a call on me, for what it’s worth.)

AT&T in the hiz-ouse on JFK Drive today. The truck itself, the Cellular On Light Truck truck is near the top of a hill at a secure undisclosed location.